


Creases and Creases

by Lisbon (curseofbunny)



Series: Owari Magica [118]
Category: Owari Magica
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25060861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curseofbunny/pseuds/Lisbon
Summary: 3 expMatias: 778 words at 390 +350 = 740ptsPercy: 1443 words at 725 +700 +50 = 1475pts
Series: Owari Magica [118]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815574





	Creases and Creases

**Author's Note:**

> 3 exp  
> Matias: 778 words at 390 +350 = 740pts  
> Percy: 1443 words at 725 +700 +50 = 1475pts

"It feels like Luis is getting bigger every day. I know that's not true, but… I keep forgetting how tall he is.”

“He’s doing alright. He’s sad, but... He’ll be fine. As long as he has us. He’s gonna make a contract soon, I think. I hope I get to see him when he does.”

“Are Nessa and Von with you? Did I keep Nessa from ending up where magi go?”

Percy props his chin on his knee and looks more steadily at the gravestone. Ana’s gravestone.

It wasn’t a hot day. The clouds were heavy and thick, but it was the perfect temperature. He had one of his long sleeves on, and the humidity was making his hair stick to his forehead and beads of sweat roll down his jaw. And, of course, there was that ever-present vase of paper flowers. They had a glass cover over them now, Percy had bought one because he was scared of them getting washed away.

It wasn’t like Ana’s mom ever brought anything. Just the paper flowers.

Percy had found a book on Belladonna’s shelf and bought some construction paper and scissors, his fingers clumsy with the motions.

They weren’t looking very good at all.

A tear slips down his cheek to join the sweat. He wipes it away, just the same, and laughs to himself.

“I’m having trouble talking to anyone. I’m… not alone, I know, but… it was easier when you were here. I don’t want to say that I can’t talk to Lu, Si, and Bebe… I just miss talking to you. With them it’s, it’s romantic. It’s sweet. I’m more focused on making sure they’re okay. And I know they care about me, but I don’t wanna worry them. I didn’t have to do the guesswork with you. I knew I could just… ask you to beat the shit out of me, no questions asked, and then we’d cry and fix it.”

He misses a crease and winces as the whole thing falls apart.

“I’m sorry I’m not good at this, Ana.” He shakes his head. “Whoever was doing these… They made it look easy.”

He sets it aside and picks up a yellow piece of paper. Her favorite color. He starts trying to make another flower.

“I’m not upset about being a leader. I like it. I… I know it’s going to be rocky, but I think I can grow into it. Or… You know, something like that. I’m doing okay.”

This flower is a little easier. It doesn’t have as many tight creases as the other one.

“This was how it was going to end, isn’t it?” He asks, voice small. “With everyone gone. Just the new kids, me and Opelia. Bebe.” He shook his head. “And one day I’ll leave too. And then someone else will have to deal with it, and maybe someone will cry at my plaque.”

He paused. “What if no one cares that I’m gone? What if I suck? What if I fuck it all up?”

The wind whistles. That’s his only response.

Percy blows out a breath. He couldn’t stop the new tears rolling down his cheeks. He didn’t even try.

“It’s funny.” He swiped his thumb through his tears and used the wetness to stick some of the paper together and twist it, finishing it. It was a sloppy little paper rose, now. Yellow for friendship. Yellow for the sun. Yellow for Ana. “I didn’t think I’d get this far. I know I said I wasn’t gonna die, but… I still keep thinking that eventually it’ll all catch up.”

Percy made a quick couple of leaves and a stem and attached them to the rose, pulling the dome up to slide his messy little rose in the center of the bouquet.

It looked weird. Out of place.

Like a boy with construction paper and scissors, sitting on his friend’s grave before a rainstorm.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Anititita.” He laughs once. “I’m… not trying to disturb your rest. I just miss you.”

More tears fall as he leans forwards, resting his palm in the blades of grass.

Matias had been out to stop by his daughter's grave to... ask her for forgiveness. Not for the first time, and most certainly not for the last. He didn't expect to find a boy already there and crying, but... he thinks he might recognize the kid. He hums.  
"If I know anything about my daughter, she wouldn't think you're bothering her. Might even appreciate the company."

Percy jumped, eyes wide as he craned his neck to look up at the... oh. Oh no. Ana's dad. His cheeks felt hot as he scrambled to stand up. "I'm sorry sir- I... you... don't sound mad." He tried to process what the man had said. "Company... I think she- no, I can't say that." He glanced back at the grave. He couldn't lie and say she'd rather be alive. She'd been ready to die for a long time before she did. "Do you want the space? I can leave."

"No, no, you shouldn't leave on my account. I just came by to drop these off and... apologize again, I suppose. I don't have a lot to tell her, and I know she would rather I don't stick around, so... neither will you?" He offers, leaning down to place the paper hydrangeas onto the ground in front of Mariana's grave, letting out a sigh as he does. He'd never imagined he would outlive his daughter. It's a strange and... humbling reality.

Percy felt a fresh wave of tears come, and before he's aware of it, he's wiping at his cheeks, the tears hot on his face and air having difficulty coming to him. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Was this what grief was? Just a series of sucker punches? He hadn't even considered that it was her dad who was leaving the flowers, and...  
She would have hated them.  
Percy can't stop crying.

Matias froze, when he heard the shuttered breath and then the choked off sob Percy let out. He hadn't been expecting to make the boy cry, at least not any harder, and... shit.  
"H-hey, young man, it's alright. You're? Okay?" He doesn't know what to say. Shit. His hands hover around Percy's shoulders, unsure if he should touch or if he should leave the boy to his grief. Oh no.

Percy threw his arms around Ana's dad and pressed his face into the man's chest to hide it. He couldn't be seen right now, it hurt too bad. Ana...

Matias curled an arm around Percy's shoulders, holding him gently and letting him cry. This... he could do. Alright.  
"Shh, it's okay, hijo, I've got you..."

Percy cried until he couldn't anymore, clinging to Ana's dad. He felt bad- she would have killed him for this. She hated her dad so much, but here he was. Leaning on her dad until he cried himself out. He coughed and leaned into Matthias more. "I- I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Matias pats Percy's back gently.  
"I don't mind. Why would I mind?"

"Because... you don't know me?" Percy offered. "Because it's weird?"

"You're a friend of Maricita's, and of Juanito's. I don't need to know you that well to understand why you're upset. And it isn't weird to need to cry, or seek comfort from someone." He sits back on his heels, and raises his eyebrows a little, something Luis seems to have picked up over the years.  
"Are you feeling any better, hijo?"

Percy held up a hand and wobbled it back and forth in the universal signal for 'meh'. "Not really. Ana was my best friend. She was the one I opened up to, and I was the one she trusted. I... never lied to her. Everyone else... let her down."

Matias winced.  
"I... that makes sense." He rubs the back of his neck, and glances to the side.  
"She... she could really hold a grudge, huh?"

"Not so much that." Percy sighed. "Everyone else just... did too much. Her girlfriend lied to her, Von lied to her, they treated her like a kid, and then.... well, they both died." He didn't think too clearly before going into details.

Matias's heart ached.  
"Oh, that... I'm so sorry." He didn't know what to say. His guilt about his daughter's odd heart attack rears its head.

"I... I'm sorry to put all this on you." Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "I know it's a lot. I just... how did it happen?"

Matias glances away, and settles more into a proper sit on the ground, taking a breath to settle his nerves.  
"I... she came home with a nose bleed, or at least the remains of one. It's not the first time she came home injured but I thought... I could ask her about it, find out what I could do to... help." He grimaces a little, unsure if he wants to recount the argument that followed in its entirety.

Percy nodded. He remembered the nosebleed. "Yeah?"

"...I guess I touched a nerve. She yelled, stomped her foot, tried to make me give up on asking her questions. I... don't know what she threw, but... maybe a moment or two before she collapsed, she threw something at the wall behind me, some little glass thing. I'd never seen it before." He shrugged.  
"There wasn't any sign of illness on her, but it seemed like she just... had a heart attack from stress."

Percy had his soul gem in his hand before Matia was done talking. "This? Did it look like this?" His heart wasn't beating.

Matias glanced down at the bauble in Percy's hand.  
"...I only saw it in pieces, but... that looks like what it might have been. There were pink shards and little bits of gold around it." He admits, eyebrows climbing his forehead again.

Percy hid his hand as he put it back around his necklace, tears welling up again. "I..." he took a few deep breaths. Ana... ana, no. "I'm, I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey, it's alright, hijo. You're okay. It's not your fault." Matias patted Percy's shoulder, not sure if he should try to wipe away the tears or just let the boy cry again.

Percy leaned into the man's space. He couldn't correct him. "Ana... she was trying to protect you."

Matias sat back, confused.  
"What?"

"She was scared that you'd get hurt." Percy blew out a breath. "So she tried to make sure you wouldn't."

"I... what are you trying to say?" Matias has never been more confused by a turn in the conversation, he thinks.

Percy shook his head. "We- we're dealing with some stuff. In town. Just... don't blame her for this. She did everything she could to help everyone."

"So it is a gang." Matias nods to himself a little, and shakes his head.  
"I could never blame her, she was clearly stressed and upset. I just... wanted to help, in any way I could. And that... wasn't what she needed, I suppose."

Percy winced. He didn't want to let Matias believe a lie, but it might be easier. "You... still live alone, right sir?"

"Si, I do. I... I've been looking into something smaller, it's not as important to keep a house when you're not expecting to have to take care of... your family." He glances at Mariana's gravestone, and sighs at it a little.

"Where is your family from, again?" Percy couldn't help the thought coming into his mind. Ana might not have liked her dad, but he had a feeling she'd approve of this.

"I was born in Logroño, in Spain, if that's what you're asking? Maricita and Juanito were born here, in America." He tilts his head, confused.

Percy shifted to face him better. "Sir, be honest. Are you happy here?"

"I. I never wanted to leave my home town, let alone the country or Europe." He ran a hand down his face.  
"Maria-Alejandra convinced me to leave the country when I was 17 with promises of marriage and starting a family and having a better quality of life, here, but..." He sighs.

"But she was a liar and horrible." Percy nodded. "And she doesn't care about anyone but herself. You deserve to be happy."

"No offense to the people who do enjoy it here, but I much prefer living in Spain, it was... much prettier, the countryside. I miss playing guitar with my Mamá while she did chores. Making up dumb songs with my friends about people we thought were pretty, or interesting, or just... whatever came to mind. I miss... having connections." He lets out a long breath.  
"But I can make more of an effort, now, to make those connections, here."

Percy smiled at him. "That sounds... nice. What if I could get you back home?"

Matias paused.  
"I have not spoken to those people in a decade and a half, hijo, how could I possibly just... walk back home now?"

"Tell them your wife was an abusive asshole. Tell them you're safe now. Tell them you're- you have your whole life ahead of you, man. You have plenty of time to get out of her shadow and from under her thumb."

"I followed a pretty face and got divorced over a fake cheating scare. I can't just... walk home like that, that's... beyond humiliating. I'm turning 35 in July, I can't just..." Matias puts his face in his hands.

"Why not?" Percy grabbed the man's hand. "She was abusive. None of that was your fault."

Matias grimaced, a little, but... there was a part of him that hoped.  
"Do you... think I really could? Just go home?"

Percy nodded. "And... you don't have to worry about Luis. I've got him." He squeezed Matias' hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm his boyfriend."

Oh. Juan-Luis is gay? Well, good for him. Coming to terms with it. Matias nods once.  
"You'll take good care of him?" He sighs.  
"I'll need to save up to buy a ticket back, and to renew my citizenship..."

"My parents can take care of it!" Percy shook his head. "You don't have to worry. It's the least I can do. I figured out that Ana's mom was the worst person on the planet from the moment I realized there weren't any pictures of her in that house. My parents can help, and if you need anything, just ask them. They owe me that much."

"I... wouldn't want to impose..." Matias demurred, glancing to the side.  
"I'd feel bad asking them for a flight, especially if I'm not going to be taking them to see any sights. Even... if I'm not as familiar with the place as I used to be..."

"Hey, why not bring them with? Or even- my parents need a short break, what if you borrowed my mom? She's an alcoholic, the air might do her good. What do you say? Borrow my mom for a bit, give her a vacation?"

"If she's amenable, I wouldn't say no to taking her on a tour ot Spain and... then staying behind when she goes home?" Matias offers, scratching the back of his neck again.  
"I'll still need to prepare, send in my resignation, pack up the house, but..."

"But yes? You'll do it?" Percy leaned in closer. He didn't know why, but this felt like... such a weight off his shoulders.

Matias nodded.  
"...si. I... I would like to."

Percy pulled him into a tight hug.  
This was better.  
He could do this.


End file.
